1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ion generators, and, more particularly, to an ion generator used in an air cleaner or an air conditioner.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, for environmental improvement, various ion generators have been provided. For example, an ion generator disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-63827 is known. As illustrated in FIG. 8, in this ion generator, a ground electrode 142 covered with an insulating film 144 is disposed on a substrate 141, and a wire electrode 145 is disposed between two legs 142a and 142b of the ground electrode 142. The wire electrode 145 is connected to a high-voltage electrode 143 disposed on the substrate 141. When a high-tension current is supplied to the wire electrode 145, a leakage current flows from the wire electrode 145 to the ground electrode 142, so that ions are generated.
In this ion generator, however, the ground electrode 142 and the high-voltage electrode 143 are close to each other since they are disposed on the same surface. As a result, an undesirable leakage current flows from the high-voltage electrode 143 to the ground electrode 142. This reduces the number of ions generated.